I was wondering the other day about how many Tolkien aficionados there are under the ages of 18 on the site, and in general. I'm fifteen, and I've never met anyone except a boy in my class who has read "The Hobbit".

So my question is, how were all the people/teenagers/adolescents/children(whichever term you prefer) on this site introduced to Tolkien and/or Peter Jackson's movies? It would be nice to know that other kids my age are enjoying the books I do. Žęs ofereode, žisses swa męg - that has passed, so may this.

I'm 17 and I find it irritating that one of the most popular works of fiction of all time seems to have such a small following among my age group (at least here in the UK). I know one or two people who are fans but perhaps only one of them comes close to my level of interest.

I discovered LOTR quite by coincidence when I saw FotR on TV at the age of 7. I remember being in complete and utter awe of Gandalf and crying for hours afterward when I thought he had died. Since that day my life was never the same again, it had improved 100% for the better. By the time I had seen The Two Towers I was dying to read LOTR, which I managed to do along with The Hobbit before RotK came out. The Silmarillion along with the rest of Tolkien's work I read a few years later. I've read LOTR ten times since then, and The Hobbit more times than I would care to remember due to its simplicity and length (or lack of).

It's fortunate I found this site, because I've been longing to talk to like-minded people for years!"These are Gundabad Wargs! They will outrun you!"

I am 15 also, and I have read TH, all three LOTR and am reading the Silmarillion. I actually know 3 people under 18 who have read The Hobbit and LOTR. I was introduced to Tolkien first by watching the LOTR movies. After that, I read The Hobbit, then I read The Lord of the Rings, and I am now reading the Silmarillion. I have watched The Hobbit 7 times in theaters also. True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.

But I was 10 when I first read The Hobbit and then started on LOTR. I'm sure there are a great many other people who are older now but that started out young like you. Rest assured you're not alone There's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall and the bells in the steeple, too. And up in the nursery an absurd little bird is popping out to say coo-coo (coo-coo, coo-coo).

Those of us who are *ahem* somewhat older, who first fell in love with Tolkien's works when we were your age or younger, didn't have the internet to turn to as we wondered if anyone else out there had ever read his books. Connecting with other Tolkien enthusiasts from around the world simply wasn't possible, and we were limited just to the people we knew around us. Here you've got a fantastic resource, TORn, where you can geek out to your heart's delight.

Rest assured that many of us first delved into Tolkien when we were young. I was probably 11 when I first read The Hobbit, and 12 when I finally read The Lord of the Rings (I had tried a couple of times earlier but kept getting stuck at Tom Bombadil). The books had been highly recommended to me by a good (and much older) family friend, and I'm forever grateful I finally took him up on his suggestion! But I knew no one my age who had even heard of them, let alone actually read them. I dressed as a hobbit three years in a row in high school, and everyone laughed at my furry feet (and had no idea what I was supposed to be) -- fur generously donated by my curly-haired dog.

I don't fit the age group now, but I was 17 when I de-lurked and created a message board account.

It depends on where you live, I guess. Most people in my class days where totally obsessed with LOTR and Tolkien. Most friends from that time that I still keep in touch with are just as big fans as they always were, so no, that has not "faded away" throughout the years. Which is a good thing!

I was eleven-twelve something when I read LOTR. Read The Hobbit the year after.

TORN regulars who's been around here for a while knows which one of them I prefer.

I could just imagine what it was like to wonder if there were any other fans. I would've tried to "convert" everyone around me...

I also read the Hobbit at eleven and LotR at twelve! I've never been to school dressed completely as a hobbit, but I have gone barefoot with dwarf braids and pointy ears. I take the change whenever we have a civvies day.

So yes, I'm grateful to be among such excellent and admirable Tornadoes. Žęs ofereode, žisses swa męg - that has passed, so may this.

I too, was born in the First Age, before Aule wrought the Internet and Varda hallowed it, and before the first text message was sent in Sindarin. We had electricity and running water back in those days, but we shunned them and preferred to stay near our caves and keep the fires lit out of habit, and we grunted more than we read.

Tolkien wasn't popular when I was in school, and for the few who read it, their interest was superficial. "Cool battles. Should have been more. Who cares what a hobbit is?" It was futile to talk to other people about how scary the Black Riders are, or what it must be like to spend a week in Lorien, or what you'd do if you had a Ring of Power. This age of connectivity has many merits!

How did we ever find others of similar enthusiasm, back in those "dark ages"?

My brother told me about The Hobbit when I was 11 or 12, and once reading it, LotR was the natural next step. I was fortunate to have a good friend who was also a fan, and by the time we got to high school we found ourselves amongst a small group of "geeks" who would pass notes to one another in Tengwar, and we had our own Tolkien-type names: "dernwyn" dates from around 1970.

And when Tolkien died, we cried and cried, how could we not: for lost, lost to us were any further tales of Middle-earth - or so we believed! I still have the newspaper clipping from June 1977 which reviewed Carpenter's "Biography", and hinted of the Silmarillion to come...

Just imagine, had we only had Internet (or home computers!) back then! We could have commiserated, and quickly spread every little bit of information about what Christopher was doing, and our grief might not have been so deep! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

13 and 15. They love Tolkien's work. Both have read The Hobbit multiple times and both have read LOTR; my 13 year old daughter even started reading The Silmarilion. I love that I can share it with them! I think it is super cool that people from all over the world can share their thoughts and opinions on a site like this. Your generation is lucky to be connected. I don't let my children be on sites like Facebook, but they are allowed to post on this site. " He has just as much reason to go to war as you do. Why can he not fight for those he loves?"

My 6th grade teacher read The Hobbit in class so I was 10. I soon got my own copy and then my teacher recommended LOTR. I was forever changed for the better. But there weren't really any other fans around me soijust re-read them all every summer until I went to college. There are still very few fans that I know personally so TORN is great for the discussions.

No longer young though...middle aged old maid. My avatar photo is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand's South Island. Taken by me in 2004 on a Red Carpet Tours LOTR Movie Location Tour. 'Twas the Vacation of a Lifetime!

pictures taken while on the tour are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/Kirly7/LOTRNewZealandTour#

I can't remember the exact year. But I will say, when I read it - girls weren't allowed to wear pants to school and boys couldn't have sideburns or wear blue jeans in school. And our skirts had to touch the floor if we were to kneel on the ground, so... they had to pretty much cover the knees.

oh, and we had to wear gym suits to gym and they had to be freshly washed and pressed on Mondays.

The only people who had read and liked the series I whom I knew as a kid were adults in my family (parents, grandparents, uncles). Even my sister did not like it. And they weren't that interested in discussing it.

But then I went to college and found people with whom I could discuss the genealogy of the ruling House or Gondor, who could write my name in Tengwar, or what have you...good times.

Those of us who are *ahem* somewhat older, who first fell in love with Tolkien's works when we were your age or younger, didn't have the internet to turn to as we wondered if anyone else out there had ever read his books. Connecting with other Tolkien enthusiasts from around the world simply wasn't possible, and we were limited just to the people we knew around us. Here you've got a fantastic resource, TORn, where you can geek out to your heart's delight.

Rest assured that many of us first delved into Tolkien when we were young. I was probably 11 when I first read The Hobbit, and 12 when I finally read The Lord of the Rings (I had tried a couple of times earlier but kept getting stuck at Tom Bombadil). The books had been highly recommended to me by a good (and much older) family friend, and I'm forever grateful I finally took him up on his suggestion! But I knew no one my age who had even heard of them, let alone actually read them. I dressed as a hobbit three years in a row in high school, and everyone laughed at my furry feet (and had no idea what I was supposed to be) -- fur generously donated by my curly-haired dog.

There were no computers let along internet when I first read the books back in the 60's. I think it's terrific now that one can connect with people around the world who share your love for the literature. Back in the day I just had to find someone at school or in my town that enjoyed it. Outside of my town, which had less than 25,000 people and was quite rural and isolated, there was no one to share it with. So to me this brings a lot of hope that if the book and the Professor's works could survive in that limited of an environiment, certainly now even more so!

I first read LOTR when I was 18 and had no one to talk to about it. One morning I was walking in town and saw a car turn up a hill ahead of me, and its number plate said HOBBIT. I honestly had a split-second impulse to run after the car and talk to the driver! Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..." Dwarves: "Pretty rings..." Men: "Pretty rings..." Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Saurons master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.

>>I think it is super cool that people from all over the world can share their thoughts and opinions on a site like this.I particularly like being able to speak to teenagers, 70-year-olds and every age in between about LOTR and Tolkien. You usually can't tell a person's age online, and hearing the perspectives of different ages has often prompted me to consider this well-known story in an entirely different way.Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..." Dwarves: "Pretty rings..." Men: "Pretty rings..." Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Saurons master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.